Golf Books #154 (The Social Golf Course: Increasing Rounds with Social Media)

The Social Golf Course: Increasing Rounds with Social Media, written by Zeb Welborn of 19th Hole Media and John Hakim from Greenskeeper.org is an introduction to golf course marketing with social media. Social media is not just a marketing and sales tool. It creates word-of-mouth excitement. It can help build business. It can attract more golfers. Market your golf course more effectively in the 21st century with social media using tools like Facebook, Twitter, email marketing, blogs, Instagram, YouTube, Vine, LinkedIn, Greenskeeper.org, Google+ and much, much more.

Excerpt from the Introduction: “Social media is changing our economy … forever. Offline and online worlds have collided. They will forever be intertwined. To stay competitive, golf courses must build authentic relationships that translate into business. These relationships must help trigger the most effective form of advertising — word of mouth — taking place on social platforms in exponentially growing numbers. We’ve talked with golf course owners, general managers and directors of golf across the United States. The sentiment is usually the same: “I don’t understand social media,” one general manager said. “Social media is a fun thing to do, but it doesn’t benefit our golf course in a substantial way,” said a director of golf. “We’re doing social media, but it’s not working,” a golf course marketing director said.

If you find yourself with similar doubts, concerns or worries, you should read this book: social media works. Here’s what the Director of Golf at Arroyo Trabuco Golf Club — 19th Hole Media’s client for six months — said: “We wanted to thank our customers on our Facebook page, by offering discounted rounds, but we can’t because we’re booked solid until 4pm.” The General Manager at San Dimas Canyon Golf Course — 19th Hole Media’s client for eight months — said: “We’ve had the best month we’ve ever had at this time of the year, and in comparison with other golf courses similar to ours . . . we’re doing extremely well.”

And as Tom Robinson, a golfer at Los Serranos Country Club, said: “Its been a year since adding Los Serranos to my “likes” list (on Facebook) and in that time I’ve played five rounds (never as a single) at the country club. Traditionally I will play maybe two total rounds per year at the course because of where I live.” Many golf course owners and operators are failing to see the potential of social media. And the potential is massive. We can’t ignore change and change is upon us all. People are consuming information at an unprecedented rate. And the best way to be heard in the noise of information bombarding golfers is to reach them relevantly: as they are deciding when and where to play. And that is happening on social media — effective social media. Social media can help your golf course communicate with golfers 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Imagine having thousands of golfers talking about your golf course daily when they aren’t even at your course. And the best part is the value you create — is yours. You get the benefit, not golf magazines or tee time wholesalers. By using social media effectively, you are communicating directly to the golfer and future customer rather than through a third party, achieving brand loyalty. So, the culture of a golf course should change to incorporate the social media online world into the traditional offline world to create the 21st century golf course — The Social Golf Course.

Publication date: March 6, 2014 (source)

About the Author

This book is written by Zeb Welborn of 19th Hole Media and John Hakim of Greenskeeper.org. Zeb started his own internet marketing business in 2011 and has since developed 19th Hole Media which focuses specifically on social media marketing for golf courses. That is when he met John Hakim (or JohnnyGK) of Greenskeeper.org, an online social golf network of over 60,000 golfers. They both see a real need for golf courses to take charge of their online presence. To become successful these golf courses need to become social golf courses. That’s why they teamed up to write this book, The Social Golf Course: Increasing Rounds with Social Media.